Four way-too-early bold predictions for South Carolina football in 2023
Shane Beamer has things rolling.
Despite a loss to then-No. 21 Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 30, South Carolina has made marked improvement in Beamer’s first two years on the job in Columbia.
So what’s in store for Year 3? Here are a couple bold predictions for the Gamecocks in 2023:
Spencer Rattler throws for more than 3,500 yards
Quarterback Spencer Rattler took his lumps early in the 2022 season. He tossed five interceptions in his first three games and seven picks in his first five contests. Then things settled down.
The version of Rattler we saw in the second half of the Kentucky win, in the Gator Bowl loss and, of course, in upset wins over No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson is the one who is capable of being one of the best quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference in 2023.
Rattler finished his first year in Columbia connecting on 66.2% percent of his 396 passes for 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. I like his chances to blow those numbers out of the water next fall.
Antwane “Juice” Wells is back in the fold at receiver. (More on him in a second). The Gamecocks also have a plethora of talented options at tight end in transfers Trey Knox (Arkansas), Nick Elksnis (Florida) and Joshua Simon (Western Kentucky). That’s not to mention veteran pass catchers Xavier Legette, Dakereon Joyner and Ahmarean Brown all returning.
South Carolina will need to replace three starters on the offensive line. It’ll also need to figure out how to replace MarShawn Lloyd and Jaheim Bell in the rushing game. Still, Rattler is and was the cog that made this offense go in 2022. Next fall should be no different.
I’m giving first-year offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains the benefit of the doubt that he figures out how to better accentuate Rattler’s talents than Marcus Satterfield did last year sans the final few weeks of the season.
The Gamecocks get better at linebacker by subtraction
Credit to Brad Johnson and Sherrod Greene. Both guys were steady presences in the middle of the South Carolina defense in 2022 after up-and-down careers in Columbia.
Johnson came to USC as a defensive end before shifting to linebacker full-time in 2021. Greene dealt with a slew of injuries, lost his starting job as a sixth-year senior and still ended up being a stalwart in the wake of Mo Kaba’s season-ending injury Week 2 at Arkansas.
That said, Johnson and Greene had their limitations.
South Carolina’s linebacker room likely now flips to some combination of Kaba, one-time Delaware transfer Debo Williams and former four-star recruit Stone Blanton. On paper, the upside there is huge.
Kaba was a breakout candidate heading into last year before he went down the second week of the season. He’s spent the year working back to full health and was on the bowl trip with the Gamecocks in December. Assuming he’s full-go, he’s got All-SEC potential and feels like a guy with legitimate NFL chops.
Williams should presumably get the nod over Blanton after filling in admirably in backup and special teams roles his first two years at South Carolina. He has been described as one of the team’s hardest hitters and biggest trash-talkers. Expect him to back up that talk in 2023.
South Carolina also added Ole Miss linebacker Jaron Willis from the transfer portal. Willis figures to get a look to crack the two-deep somewhere.
It’s never ideal to lose veteran pieces. But given the ceilings of Kaba, Willliams and Blanton, this feels like addition by subtraction.
Antwane Wells leads the SEC in receiving this year
It’s hard to overstate how good a find Wells was by the South Carolina staff last year.
He had lit up the record books at James Madison after being under-recruited coming out of high school, before spending a postgrad year at a military academy in Virginia. All Wells did was come to Columbia and finish second in the SEC in yards receiving (898) during the regular season. The only man to outpace him was Tennessee standout and Biletnikoff winner Jalin Hyatt.
I like Wells’ chance to be the top dog in the league this year.
Indications inside the program are Rattler’s return was at least partially tied to what Wells would do and vice versa. Getting another full offseason of work together only stands to help their chemistry when the season kicks off in September against North Carolina in Charlotte.
There will be other talented receivers in the league next year. LSU’s Malik Nabers and Georgia’s Brock Bowers and Dominic Lovett come to mind. Still, Wells showed he can be a No. 1 receiver at this level — quickly.
I think he ends up as the top receiver in the SEC yardage-wise by season’s end.
South Carolina struggles to stop the run, again
Slowing opposing rushers has been an issue for two years now. I have a hard time believing it’s going to get better given the losses up front.
South Carolina ranked 11th in the SEC in rush defense in 2021. It followed that up with a 13th-place finish this fall. Now throw in the Gamecocks losing defensive ends Jordan Burch (Oregon) and Gilber Edmond (Florida State) to the transfer portal, while defensive tackle Zacch Pickens is off to the NFL Draft. Not exactly a winning formula.
It’s been well-documented how thin South Carolina is at defensive end heading into the spring. Jordan Strachan is still working through his appeals process for a seventh year of eligibility after he went down with a season-ending injury the same week as Kaba. Bryan Thomas Jr. is back after being thrust into a near-impossible situation as a freshman down the stretch, while four-star freshman Desmond Umeozulu could get a few snaps.
In fairness, Tonka Hemingway had a breakout 2022 campaign and is line for another big year, whether that’s on the outside or inside of the line. The Gamecocks staff is also high on ex-N.C. State transfer Terrell Dawkins, who missed most of last year due to injury.
Optimism aside, I think it’s still a good bet South Carolina finishes in the bottom half of the SEC in run defense for the sixth consecutive year.
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Four way-too-early bold predictions for South Carolina football in 2023."
